By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .
Sign up with Google
Sign up with Facebook
Q: Why do Chinese people like to take photos of food so much?
So I often meet a group of friends for dinner at various random restaurants find that they almost always, without fail, take pictures of food they haven't eaten before before they eat it. Why is this?
Because it looks so perty and it must have taken a lot of hard work to prepare...
check out if there is poison inside.just like X ray
check out if there is poison inside.just like X ray
Evidence, if they die later, then they have proof of what they ate.
Well, I know many group shop and use Dianping, so will post food and menu pics on those websites. You get points for reviewing and posting pics, which rewards you with nothing but satisfaction of a good job.
Also, it's just a faster way of telling your friends or family what you had to eat. Instead of typing up an answer, you can just show it in a quick pic and put it on wechat memories.
I am a foodie and love to try new food, so I actually find the girls food photos quite interesting when searching for a new restaurant to try.
Alot of people like to blog, just like in the west people use Facebook, Yelp, Instagram,..etc. Most people here use QQ and Weixin (Wechat) to post.
There's rarely anything to do in China... non-commie fun is banned by the CCP, so they get bored and take pictures.
Sounds like you haven't been on Pinterest or Instagram to see it saturated with food photos and selfies with duck lips from Westerners.
Hick downvotes incoming.
Hulk:
I agree with you, but I'm downvoting you anyway for complaining about downvoting.
nicholasba:
im downvoting for your avatar (rather gay), your nickname (same reason), your 2 cents abc nationalism...
nicholasba:
weird, sounds like a confession and an apologize...dont worry justbin, I met many abc and I know with the kind of unconfident, aggressive dude im dealing with. 
You're asking why Chinese people do it... I'm semi-reluctant to say this but Silva is absolutely right. It's often not about uploading to any foodie site but will be shared with friends as in "look at the incredible feast my boy/girlfriend sorted for spring festival!". The pic is always taken before people start because half-eaten would kind of spoil the scene, the food must all be on the table and it needs to look picturesque. Consider it a Chinese art form.
djangolee:
In fact,the shape of food is considered as one of the 5 very important factors to estimate the quality of a Chinese dish..the other 4 factors are colour,smell,taste and plate..
Why the hell I get 2 votedown?
GuilinRaf:
Dont worry buddy!
I am EChinaCities Superhero!
I upvote the down voted! 
Well, most of them....
TedDBayer:
There are 6 factors, another is the amount of bones or feet in a dish, the more the better.
my ex told me how her grandfather told her tales of finding at his favorite 5-Star restaurant (the fields) Tree-bark and Grass and making a meal on that. So, maybe today in 2013 it is worth noting/recording that one is munching out on something at least passable.
(contrary to those silly web people,,, china food sucks major (w/ very few exceptions) )
because all that Chinese culture is, is eating and shopping, of course not eating anything but Chinese food or poor attempts at foods from other countries
Makes one wonder if they also take photos of the food "as it comes out of the body" before they flush it down to have a "before and after" set. 
Traveler:
I never thought I'd see the day when Happy was talking sh**. Glad you have now become like the rest of us.
My girlfriend does this a lot. It's for memories. diaries etc.
Maybe the vegetables remind them of relatives and close friends.
That's right! My Wechat Memories is just full of people's dinner photos. I think its a reflection of importance of dining culture here. Everything evolves around food and fancy meals can also give people extra face credits. Usually the photos they take are of really special meals or expensive-looking dishes.
